


For The Greater Good

by professor_dumbledore



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Past Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 10:28:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16742293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/professor_dumbledore/pseuds/professor_dumbledore
Summary: When Abelforth confronts Albus about not taking care of his family, he leaves with Grindelwald on their quest for the greater good, winning the Global Wizarding War. With time, Albus realizes that Gellert can't seem to get enough, and wants more power, slowly casting him to the side. Muggles have become slaves to the wizards, and Albus comes to the conclusion that all of this was a mistake. He starts an secret rebellion in order to overthrow Grindelwald, and needs all the help he can get.Just when he thinks he might never find love again, Albus finds all he ever needed.





	For The Greater Good

How long had it taken Albus Dumbledore to realize that Gellert Grindelwald was _using_ him?

Albus would have liked to say that it took him decades, that he had been blinded to Grindelwald's horror for most of the time he had been by his side, but the truth was very far from it. Albus had realized far too early that he was nothing but a weapon to be used by his partner, who so often claimed he loved him. Unfortunately, Albus had craved him more than one craved oxygen after drowning, and he had decided to deny the all the lies, all the chaos, all the unnecessary murders, all the _evil_ that was in Gellert Grindelwald, the leader of their new world.

Albus remembered how when they were only but young men, Gellert's ideas inflamed him, with his promises of a better world, a world they would lead side by side, where wizards would be free and would no longer have to hide. Of course, it had been a very twisted promise. Albus was not naive enough to think that there would be no sacrifice to get the better world they wanted, he _knew_ it would be mass slaughter for the greater good, but he had not imagined it would have gone this far.

Yes, Albus had wanted wizards to rule the world, but to rule a _good_ , benevolent world, not...not this. This was a reign of terror, one that Grindelwald had put in place despite Albus' attempts to convince him of otherwise. Each time, Grindelwald would become extremely angry at him, reminding Albus that without him, he would still be _nothing_ , trapped and wasted in his pathetic house with his weak family in Godric's Hollow. Gellert's words were both poison and the cure for him, because he _knew_ he was right. Gellert had been the one to believe in him, to believe he could be something more--and he had been right. He was much more than he once was.

Only, Albus didn't exactly want to become _this_. He had wanted to be powerful, to be acknowledge, to use his power for something good, something worthwhile. Instead, he was feared by many if not all, and the only one who truly dared approach him was Gellert.

Albus had ignored his instincts for so many years, had ignored his better judgement, all in the name of _love_ , because part of him was still foolish enough to think that Gellert actually loved him and was not simply using him and his magical power. And when Albus saw the truth, he had been too destroyed to even face his partner; instead, he closed his eyes, and thought that maybe, one day, Gellert would love him too.

It had taken far too long for him to say that enough was enough. So many wizards, muggles, and other species had been killed during this war, more than it should have been. The war was over, they had won, and there was still massacres everywhere. This was no longer a sacrifice for the greater good, this was random mass slaughter simply for the display of power. And even if Dumbledore’s weakness was power and Gellert, he knew this was too much. Yes, he had wanted to gain more power and have the wizarding world to be free and not live in fear any longer, but he had not wanted all the other species to be exploited, used, and terrorized.

Muggles had become slaves and were often killed, even when they had done absolutely nothing wrong. They were discarded like vermin, as were goblins, house elves, and any other species that roamed the Earth. Gellert hadn’t only wanted the wizarding community to be above all, he wanted to drive everyone else into the ground. That was where he and Albus’ ideals parted, and with time, Albus realized that the only way things would be made right was if everyone was _equal_. No more wizards hiding. No more Muggles terrorized and forced to be slaves. No more creatures exploited for profit. No more.

Unfortunately, this was easier said than done. When Grindelwald rose to power and grew in popularity many years ago, he had cast Albus to the side, because he had less use for him, less need. Gellert had been smart enough just to keep him (and his other followers) close enough to believe they were important, but they weren’t. The only important thing to Gellert was…Gellert. 

The ones who weren’t his followers were greatly terrified of him, and the ones who weren’t terrified soon perished. Albus was not so much terrified of his power (because he _knew_ he was more powerful than Gellert) as he was of his hold on him, even if he had detached himself considerably from his partner. Obviously, he showed none of this, as he knew that he would need to remain close to him until it was certain that he could _win_ against him. Albus knew he could take on Grindelwald, but he was certainly not strong enough to face him _and_ all of his followers. No one could possibly be that strong.

Thankfully, Albus was not the only brave soul who thought Grindelwald’s reign of terror should end. It was mostly small groups of wizards, sheltering abused muggles, goblins, or other wizards that had been harmed by Grindelwald and his followers. Most of it was obviously all done in secret, and Grindelwald soon heard about the various different groups that were formed, and wanted it to end, _obviously_.

He sent Albus to task, and Albus could not have been possibly more delighted. He knew this was betrayal, but he cared not. Grindelwald had betrayed him too many times for him to feel guilt over this. This was no longer about him, or Grindelwald, this was about making things right.  
  
Albus thus recruited many of the different groups, and it had not been easy nor quick. Too many feared him, but Albus had proven himself to be far different than the dark wizard they believed him to be. Plus, it was not like they had much of a choice; they _all_ could use Dumbledore’s help, who easily healed most of Muggle’s ailments. Many of them had purposely injured themselves so as to be discarded by their owner, because it was better to be injured and left alone than a slave. Albus could not blame them.

He sheltered many of them along with other wizards, in a undisclosed location underground, very hidden from Grindelwald. But, if Albus wanted to start a rebellion and overthrow Grindelwald, he needed _far more_ wizards. Muggles stood no chance against Grindelwald, no matter how numerous they were. He had thus heard of another group against Grindelwald, consisting of wizards, muggles, and even _beasts_. It was rather interesting to Albus, but he had postponed approaching them because of the higher number of wizards following _Newton Scamander_. If this didn’t go well, they would _all_ be in trouble. Albus had to be careful.

He thus went to their secret meeting who was this week held in a old, abandoned theatre in the city of New York, and had stayed in the back, in the shadows where no one really paid attention to him, and more importantly, didn’t recognize him. He listened to the man he believed to be Newton; only to soon realize that he was not him at all. Newton was sitting in a corner at the front, while a muggle, whom others had called Jacob, was the major speaker of the meeting.

It was an interesting dynamic, that much was certain. Newton said a few words at the end to give the location of the next meeting and what new would happen this week,before thanking everyone for coming. Then, a few people remained to talk, but mostly left, and so did Albus, until the last one left was Newton, still collecting his things after Jacob had left.

Albus stepped out of the shadows at last, making his way to the younger wizard. He had to admit that up close, Newton was even more breathtaking than from where he had been standing, far behind. Albus knew very well it was not the time nor the place (and it would never be) for him to be thinking of something of the sort, but he did. There was _something_ about Newton Scamander that drew him in, even if he didn’t want it to.

“Mr. Scamander,” he first said, not exactly thinking he _needed_ to introduce himself, but he did regardless. “Albus Dumbledore. It is a pleasure of mine to finally meet you, although I am sure you could not say the same,” he spoke with sadness in his tone—obviously Albus was ashamed of what he had done, but he took full responsibility for it. “I assure you, I come here in peace. You and your friends will see no harm come from me, although I understand that may hard to believe. It saddens me to say this, but I am sure you know that if my intentions were not peaceful, this evening would have ended very differently.”

Albus took a deep breath. “I would very much like to speak with you on what your intents are with this small organization.”  
  
The older wizard then paused. “Because I do believe you might the key to defeating Grindelwald, and I will need your help.”


End file.
